Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, Bravery and Magic
by Megan Hermione Lovegood
Summary: Crystal Shard is an anxiety-suffering and lonely pony from Fillydelphia who comes to Ponyville to make some friends. When she saves a pegasus named Fluttershy from an avalanche, it's revealed that she's much more than a coward-she's the long-lost Element of Harmony, the Element of Bravery. Eventual RD/OC, might be some Fluttercord in there as well. Con-Crit is welcome!


**Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or any of its characters. They are all property of HASBRO. This is merely a story based upon the series.**

**(A.N. This story, while being as close to the show as I can make it, will be slightly darker and deal with more mature topics than the original show. For instance, I will be using some "mild swears" [crap, damn, Hell, etc.] and there will be some occasional sex references. If you're not OK with that, then this isn't the story for you. With that being said, I hope you enjoy the story! Constructive criticism is always welcome, but please don't flame me. Now onto the story!)**

'Well, Violet ... Here we are.'

Crystal Shard sighed as she looked over the town of Ponyville. As of today, this town would be her new home.

Crystal was a unicorn pony. Her coat was pale green, and her mane and tail were purple, wavy and slightly puffy, with wide streaks of green running through them. Her eyes were the same purple as her mane. Her cutie mark was a dark green crystal ball with three small sparkles beside it.

'Here we are,' Crystal repeated nervously, a drop of sweat trickling down from underneath her mane.

'What are you so worried about, Crystal?' her assistant, Violet, asked. Violet was a large anthropomorphic spider-like creature. She had six legs, was black all over, and had large violet eyes. 'I thought you were excited about moving to Ponyville.'

'I know,' sighed Crystal. 'It's just ... We moved from Fillydelphia because I was too awkward to make any friends. What if the same thing happens here?'

'Don't be so pessimistic!' said Violet reassuringly. 'We're in Ponyville, remember? This town is famous for being accepting of anypony, no matter who they are! I mean, the Princess of Friendship herself lives here! Trust me, Crystal. This place won't be anything like Fillydelphia.'

Crystal smiled thankfully at her assistant. 'You're right, Violet!' she said. 'I will be happy here ... I will!'

As she continued her journey into Ponyville, she began to sing a song.

_'Life here will be beautiful, I just know it will!' _she sang.

_'Yeah, just look at all these other ponies!' _sang Violet as her stomach grumbled loudly. _'It looks like they've eaten their fill ... _Hint, hint?' She nudged Crystal, who glared at her.

'As I was saying,' she said as she continued her song, _'Life here will be beautiful, how could it not be? Just look at all these smiling faces, as far as the eye can see!'_

As Crystal walked through the streets of Ponyville, she waved at and greeted all the other ponies, saying things like 'Good morning!', 'How are you?', 'Nice to see you!', as the other ponies greeted her in turn. She then began to sing again

_'Just look at all these lovely faces, pegasi - ' _She pointed at Derpy Hooves _' - Unicorns - ' _She pointed to Lyra Heartstrings _' - And Earth Ponies!' _She pointed to Big McIntosh, who was pulling a cart with a large stack of hay on top.

'Eeyup!' said Big McIntosh.

_'Maybe in this little town,' _sang Crystal as she climbed up the hay stack, stood on her hind legs and raised her forelegs upwards. _'I can finally be free!'_

'That's great and all, but can we please get some lunch?' Violet asked as her stomach gave another grumble.

'In a minute!' said Crystal, jumping down from the hay stack. _'This might just be where I belong, in this town where I can sing my song! Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville! So long Fillydelphia, I've gone to Ponyville! Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville! So long Fillydelphia, I've gone to Ponyville!'_

'It's been a minute,' said Violet as she was holding up a pocket watch. 'Can we get some food now?'

_'Of course, I'll always miss my family, but life in Fillydelphia's just not my cup of tea.' _sang Crystal as she continued her walk through the town, three ponies walking on either side of her._ 'The ponies are unnaccepting, cruel and rude. They picked on me, laughed at me, and were just plain crude!'_

_'Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville! Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville!' _the other ponies sang.

_'But now that I've moved to Ponyville, maybe things could change for me!' _sang Crystal. _'No longer alone and friendless ... It's what I've always dreamed!'_

_'Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville!' _

Ponies poked their heads out of their windows and sang along as Crystal and a group of backing singers walked through the streets.

_'Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville!' _

Two Pegasi (Derpy and Sunshower Raindrops) did somersaults in the air whilst three unicorns (Lyra, Lemon Hearts and Seaswirl) used their magic to create fireworks

_'Goodbye Filleydelphia, hello Ponyville!' _The procession stopped as they came to the town square. Crystal dropped down and skidded on her knees into the center of the square.

_'So long Fillydelphia, I've gone to Ponyville!' _she sang as the other ponies sang _'Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville' _in the background.

_'So long Fillydelphia, 'cause Crystal's gone to Ponyville!' _she sang as the song ended.

**(A.N. Yeah, I know; not a great musical number. But hey, it's hard coming up with a good musical number all on your own, especially when, like me, you're a teenager with no real musical talent.)**

'Ugh, _finally!' _said Violet as she walked up to Crystal. 'Now, can we _please _go get something to eat?'

'Sure!' said Crystal. 'Maybe we could go somewhere with all of my new - ' She then noticed that every pony had left, ' - friends? They ... They left.' She hung her head sadly as her happy demeanor disappeared.

'Oh, come on, Crystal, it doesn't matter!' said Violet, hopping back onto Crystal's back and putting a comforting arm around her. 'That was only a few ponies. There's lots of other ponies in this town!'

'Yeah, I know,' said Crystal sadly. 'It's just ... I thought they all liked me.' She then straightened up, a determined expression on her face. 'But whatever, I have plenty of opportunities to make more friends. Come on, let's go get something to eat.'

'Now you're talking!' said Violet as she pointed to the local bakery, Sugar Cube Corner. 'I hear that place is great!'

They both went into the bakery and over to the counter. The mare there was an Earth pony, with a pink coat, a darker pink puffy and curly mane, and large blue eyes. Her Cutie Mark was two blue balloons and one yellow one.

'Uh, hello,' said Crystal nervously. 'I'm Crystal Shard. It's nice to meet you. Uh, I'll take two cupcakes - '

She was interrupted as the mare jumped into the air, gave an extremely loud gasp, and zoomed off.

' ... Was it something I said?' said Crystal to Violet.

'Ugh, y'know what? Let's just go to the new house and eat there,' said Violet grumpily.

'Good plan,' said Crystal dejectedly as she left the bakery.

Soon, they were at their new home - it was a large tree stump with a door at the base of it. It was near the edge of the Everfree Forest. When they went into it, it consisted of one large room at the bottom, with stairs leading off to other rooms built into the walls of the part of the tree that was above ground.

'Well, this is nice, I guess,' said Crystal. 'It's quite big, so there's plenty of room to set up my fortune telling business in here.' She sighed heavily. 'Violet, would you unpack for me? I'm gonna go explore.'

'You're the boss,' said Violet as she started to unpack all of Crystal's bags. 'When will you be back?'

'I dunno,' said Crystal as she opened the door. 'Maybe not until later. Don't wait up if I'm not back by the time Princess Luna raises the moon. I'll be fine.'

She then stepped outside and pushed the door shut.

'Where to go, where to go ... ' she muttered. She took off on the path along the edge of the forest, and eventually came to a hill with flowers growing up it. She climbed the hill and peered out over Ponyville.

'I wonder where I could go ... ' she muttered. 'Where to - WHOA!'

Suddenly, something rainbow-coloured crashed hard into her, sending the both of them tumbling down the hillside, scattering flowers.

The first thing Crystal saw when she came to was a pair of magenta eyes looking down at her sheepishly.

'Uh ... oops!' the pony owning them said nervously. 'That trick didn't turn our quite like I wanted it to.' The pony straightened up. She was a cerulean blue pegasus pony with a rainbow-coloured mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was a cloud with a rainbow-coloured lightning bolt coming from it. 'Need a hoof?' she asked, holding out her hoof. Crystal accepted it, and the pony pulled her up.

'Ugh, my head ... ' said Crystal, rubbing her head. 'Was that you that hit me, or a speeding train?'

The pegasus laughed. 'Nope, that was little 'ol me. The fastest pony in all of Equestria, even speedier than the Wonderbolts themselves - ' She posed heroically as the background turned red, comic-book style, _'Rainbow Dash!'_

'Uh-huh,' said Crystal, unimpressed.

'Uh, you got a little, uh, ... something in your mane,' said Rainbow Dash, pointing at Crystal's mane and tail, which were filled with leaves, grass, and dirt. 'Sorry about that. Hey, who are you? I've never seen you around Ponyville before.'

'Oh, I've just moved here from Fillydelphia,' said Crystal. 'My name's Crystal Shard.'

'So you're a newbie, huh?' asked Rainbow Dash as she flew in a circle around Crystal. 'Well, allow me to welcome you to our fine town by pulling off my signature move - a Sonic Rainboom - just for you!'

'A Sonic Rainboom?' repeated Crystal skeptically. 'Isn't that just an Old Pony's Tale?'

'See for yourself!' said Rainbow Dash as she shot up into the sky at lightning speed. As she did, a huge explosion expelled from her - a rainbow-coloured circle that spread out across the sky - and she swerved around, a magnificent rainbow following her wherever she went. When Rainbow Dash landed, she proudly exclaimed 'Well, there you have it!'

Crystal's jaw had hit the ground - literally. Her mouth hung open with her jaw touching the ground.

'Hah, you should see the look on your face!' laughed Rainbow Dash.

'I - but - how - you - it - but - _HOW?!' _exclaimed Crystal. 'Nopony has ever been able to pull off a Sonic Rainboom before, and you made it look easy!'

'Hey, years of practice,' said Rainbow Dash faux-modestly, examining her hooves. 'Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Crystal Shard,' she said as she began to fly away. 'By the way, you may wanna go to see Rarity at Carousel Boutique about your mane!'

Crystal looked at her reflection in a puddle and sighed. The first pony she had properly met since she arrived here - she didn't count the pink pony from Sugar Cube Corner - , and she had made a complete fool of herself. 'Oh well,' she muttered, stalking off in the direction Rainbow Dash had pointed her in, 'Maybe it'll go better with this Rarity pony.'

She could not have been more wrong.

As soon as she entered Carousel Boutique, she saw a beautiful unicorn mare stitching a dress in the middle of the shop. The mare had a pure white coat, a dark purple and curly mane and tail, and big blue eyes with long eyelashes. Her Cutie Mark was three diamonds.

'Uh, hello?' she called. 'A pony named Rainbow Dash sent me here about my mane. She said to talk to Rarity?'

As soon as Rarity heard her name called, she stood up from her work and saw Crystal. When she did, she gave a loud gasp of horror as dramatic piano music played in the background.

'Oh sweet Celestia, whatever have you done to your _mane?!' _Rarity cried, pushing Crystal into the changing rooms. 'Come! We must fix this fashion disaster at once!'

She then styled Crystal's mane in all different designs. First it looked like candyfloss. Then it was straight and sleek. Then it was in an elegant french plait. Then it was in two ponytails. Then it was in dreadlocks. Then it was in corkscrew curls. Then finally, it was back to the way it normally was.

'THIS IS FINE!' yelled Crystal as she held her forelegs over her head before Rarity could change her mane again. 'Just please, leave it alone!'

'Oh, I do apologise,' said Rarity as she used her magic to pour Crystal a cup of tea. 'It's just that whenever I see something as _dreadful _as that was, I simply must turn it into something fabulous! You understand?'

'Uh ... ' said Crystal.

'Well, of course you do!' said Rarity. 'It's the same for everypony, really. Say, who are you? I've never seen you around Ponyville before.'

'My name's Crystal Shard,' said Crystal. 'I've just moved here from - '

'Canterlot?!' said Rarity eagerly.

' ... No,' said Crystal. 'Fillydelphia.'

'Oh,' said Rarity disappointedly.

'Well, uh, thank you so much for fixing my mane, Rarity,' said Crystal as she put down her tea cup and walked towards the door. 'It was, um, a ... pleasure meeting you.'

'And you as well!' said Rarity. 'Oh wait a second! I have a dress that would go _perfectly _with your coat! And - '

Crystal then slammed the door shut quickly and galloped off.

Her stomach then growled. 'Ugh, I wish that pony at Sugar Cube Corner hadn't galloped off,' she groaned. 'I'm starving!'

'You hungry?' a passing stallion asked her. 'Well, Sweet Apple Acres is right down the road, if you want to go there!'

'An apple orchard?' asked Crystal. 'That could be fun. Thank you!' She then went off in the direction the stallion was pointing her in.

Several minutes later, she arrived at the orchard. There was a large barn and several vegetable fields amidst all the apple trees. As she went through the gates, she saw a female Earth Pony kicking the apples down from a tree and catching them in baskets. Her coat was orange, her eyes were a light green, and her mane was blonde, shaggy and in a ponytail. She was wearing a brown cowmare hat and had three freckles on either cheek. Her Cutie Mark was three apples.

'Uh, hi!' she said walking up to the pony. 'I presume you work here?'

'That's right!' said the pony brightly, seizing Crystal's hoof and shaking it roughly. 'Howdy do, stranger? My name's Applejack! Me and my family here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do love makin' new friends!' She finally released Crystal's hoof, and Crystal was still shaking. 'What's your name, Sugar Cube?' Applejack asked.

Crystal shook her head roughly to stop the shaking, then said 'My name's Crystal Shard. I moved here from Fillydelphia to make some new friends, but - '

'Well, look no further!' said Applejack. 'We here at Sweet Apple Acres will always welcome anypony who needs us! So what brings you here, Mizz Crystal?'

'Uh - ' said Crystal as her stomach gave a particularly loud growl. 'Well, I think my stomach speaks for itself!' she said as she laughed nervously.

'Say no more!' said Applejack as she rang a bell hanging from a nearby tree. 'GRUB'S UP!' she yelled.

Three ponies - a stallion, a filly, and an old mare - then came out of the barn and ran over to the picnic table and sat in front of their plates. Applejack then pushed Crystal into a seat and sat down beside her.

'Crystal, meet my family!' she said. She gestured at the stallion. He was tall and broad-shouldered. His coat was red, his hair was strawberry blonde and his eyes were green. His Cutie Mark was a green apple cut in half. 'This is my brother, Big McIntosh - '

She then gestured at the filly. Her coat was pale yellowish-green, her eyes were an orange-red colour, her mane and tail were reddish-pink and she wore a pink bow on her head. She had no Cutie Mark. 'My sister, Apple Bloom - '

She then pointed at the old mare. Her coat was lime green, her eyes were orange and her mane and tail were silver. Her Cutie Mark was an apple pie. 'And my Grandmother, Granny Smith! Apples, this is Crystal Shard, the new pony in town!'

Crystal gulped nervously and gave a sheepish grin at the Apples. 'Um, it's lovely to meet all of you!' she said, a small droplet of sweat running down her forehead. _'Don't be so nervous, Crystal!' _she thought to herself. _'They're just other ponies! A nice, happy family of other ponies ... just the opposite of yours. Eep.'_

'It's a pleasure to be makin' your acquaintance, Mizz Shard!' said Apple Bloom.

'Eeyup,' said Big McIntosh.

'Uh, whazzat?' asked Granny Smith, shaking her head slightly. 'Oh! Nice to be meetin' yah, Crystal!'

'All right, Apples, dig in!' said Applejack as she placed a mound of food in front of each pony.

'Oh my!' said Crystal.

'Yeah, well, I presumed you were starvin', so I made that little bit extra just for you!' said Applejack to Crystal. 'Enjoy!'

'Eeyup ... ' Crystal said.

Later on, the Apples were waving Crystal away as she trudged down the road, her stomach full of food and sore.

'Oh sweet mother of God,' she muttered, rubbing her stomach. 'I ate ... and I ate ... and I ate ... and they still offered me MORE! I'll never be able to look at another apple again!'

'DON'T FORGET YOUR DESSERT!' Applejack called after her as she threw a large plastic baggy filled with various apple treats at Crystal, which landed on her back.

'Ugh ... ' groaned Crystal. 'I just hope Violet likes apples, 'cause that's all we'll be eating for the rest of the year.'

As she was walking along the path, she came across another path that led to the mountain near her house.

'Well, I might as well go the scenic route,' she muttered to herself as she turned along that path and began to walk. Soon enough, she was near to the top of the mountain, walking along the winding path that lead to the other side, when she came across yet another pony. This pony was a pegasus. Her coat was pale yellow, her mane and tail were a soft shade of pink, and her eyes were teal. Her Cutie Mark was three pink butterflies. She was singing softly with a few birds in the tree beside her. She had a wonderful singing voice, Crystal thought.

'Wow, she sounds beautiful!' Crystal said to herself. She then noticed that the rocky cliff beside the pegasus didn't look very stable - some rocks were already coming loose and threatening to spill over.

'Uh-oh,' said Crystal. 'Well, let's just hope that she doesn't sing too loudly!' She gave a laugh, and as she did, a leaf floated down from the tree beside the pegasus and lightly landed on her flank.

'AVALANCHE!' the pegasus shrieked, leaping into the air in shock. Hew words echoed around the mountain, and as soon as they stopped, the crumbling cliffside gave away completely as the rocks holding it up were shaken free by the pegasus's voice. The pegasus could only stare in shock as the rocks began to tumble down on her.

'Oh, no!' Crystal gasped. 'She's gonna get flattened! I have to do something - but what?!' She then got a determined expression on her face as she charged towards the pegasus. 'LOOK OUT!' she screamed as she knocked the pegasus out of the way of a rock that was about to squash her. Crystal then quickly conjured up a magic shield to protect herself from the rocks as she continued to run through the avalanche, the pegasus clinging to her desperately, her eyes squeezed shut.

As soon as they had escaped the avalanche, Crystal stopped, panting furiously.

'Oh my goodness!' gasped the pegasus. 'You - you saved my life!'

'Well, what was I supposed to do?!' Crystal panted, putting a hoof to her heart. 'Let you get killed? I had to do something! You would have done the same for me.'

She was very surprised as the pegasus threw her forelegs around her neck. 'Thank you thank you THANK YOU!' the pegasus exclaimed, hugging her tight. 'If it wasn't for you, I would have been squashed! Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?'

'Look, it's fine,' said Crystal uncomfortably. 'I just did what anypony would have done in that situation. It's not a big deal.'

'Oh, but it is!' said the pegasus pony. 'My name's Fluttershy. What's yours?'

'I'm Crystal Shard,' said Crystal. 'I'm new to Ponyville. I'm just on my way home from Sweet Apple Acres.'

'Well, it was lovely meeting you, Crystal,' said Fluttershy. She then hugged Crystal again. 'Thank you again for being so brave and saving me,' she said.

'Believe me,' said Crystal. 'It was my pleasure. Bye!'

She then went off down the mountain, waving goodbye to Fluttershy.

_'Me, brave?' _she thought to herself. _'How could I be brave? I've always been too nervous to try and make friends with any pony. How is that brave?'_

But then she thought back to her life in Fillydelphia.

She remembered seeing a bully take a young filly's lunch money back in school, and she'd used her magic to steal the money back and give it to the filly.

Then she remembered a group of ponies in her class teasing her little sister for being a blank flank, and she had defended her against them.

Then she remembered seeing a colt fall into a river, and she had dived in to rescue him, despite not being a very good swimmer herself.

_'Maybe Fluttershy's right ... ' _she thought. _'Maybe I am brave ... '_

She was back in Ponyville at this point, walking past the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

_'Y'know, Princess Twilight used to be a lot like me!' _Crystal thought with a small smile. _'Antisocial, too nervous to make any real friends ... And now look at her! She's the Princess of Friendship! If she can make friends, why not me?'_

She then walked up to the castle door and knocked on it. A purple and green baby dragon then answered the door; Crystal recognised him as Twilight's assistant, Spike.

'Hello!' he said. 'Can I help you?'

'I'm so sorry to intrude, but I request an audience with the Princess,' said Crystal.

'Well, of course,' said Spike. 'But it has to be quick; Twilight's going to a party soon!'

The Princess herself then came to the door.

'Oh, hello!' she said.

'Your highness,' said Crystal, bowing low. 'I am so sorry to intrude, but I need to speak to you. My name is - '

'Crystal Shard, I know,' said Twilight, surprising Crystal and causing her to fall onto her face.

'Y - you _know?' _Crystal repeated. 'How?'

'Because Pinkie Pie's told us all about you, of course!' said Twilight with a laugh. 'In fact, I'm about to head over to your house to go to your "Welcome to Ponyville" party! She's invited everypony in Ponyville to it!'

_'Every ... pony?' _Crystal thought weakly. She could feel her anxiety kicking in already. She hated big, crowded parties - they made her even more nervous than meeting just _one _pony.

'Pinkie Pie? Who's that?' Crystal asked, though she had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly who Pinkie Pie was.

'SURPRISE!'

Literally the first thing Crystal saw when she and Twilight entered her house was the face of the pink mare she had seen in Sugar Cube Corner earlier that day. It seemed her suspicions about Pinkie Pie had been true after all.

The house was packed full of Ponyville residents. It looked like the whole town had showed up. There were also balloons, streamers, and cake everywhere. Pinkie had really thought this through.

'Well, did I surprise ya? Did I? Did I? Huh? Huh? Huh?' Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around Crystal in circles. 'Remember earlier when you came into Sugar Cube Corner and you were like 'Hi, I'm Crystal Shard' and I was like - ' She gasped very loudly ' - And then I ran off like ZOOM! Well, I was actually planning this great big giant super duper luper "Welcome to Ponyville" party just for you because I'd never seen you before and if I'd never seen you before you must have been new because I know _everypony _in Ponyville and I knew that if you were new you musn't have any friends and if you had no friends you'd be all sad and lonely and nopony, and I mean _nopony, _is going to be sad and lonely or my name isn't Pinkamena Diane Pie!' She then sucked in a large gasp of breath before continuing. 'So were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?'

Crystal was taking in deep pants of breath as the situation overwhelmed her. She couldn't have another one of her anxiety attacks - not _now, _not while everypony was watching her! So she placed a hoof over her heart and forced herself to stay calm.

'It's wonderful, Pinkie Pie,' she said calmly. 'Thank you for planning this for me.'

'YAY!' Pinkie cheered, somersaulting around the room before coming to a stop beside Crystal and throwing her arms around her. 'Now that we're each other's bestest best friends, I have to sing you the song I wrote just for you!'

'Oh boy,' said Rainbow Dash from the other side of the room, rolling her eyes. 'Here we go again.'

_'Crystal Shard! Crystal Shard! That's your name, it's Crystal Shard!' _sang Pinkie as she cartwheeled around the room._ 'Crystal Shard! Crystal Shard! That's your name, it's Crystal Shard!' _She stopped beside Crystal and stuck her face up close to hers. _'I don't know anything that rhymes with the name Crystal Shard! But I like your name, it's fun to say!' _She got up onto the table and began to dance the can-can._ 'Crystal Shard! Crystal Shard! That's your name, it's Crystaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal SHARD!' _She stuck her forelegs up into the air and sang the last part loudly.

'Uh, that was ... lovely, Pinkie Pie!' said Crystal nervously. She inhaled sharply, an anxious expression on her face.

'Are you all right, Sugar Cube?' Applejack asked her, putting her foreleg around her concernedly.

'Yes,' lied Crystal. 'I ... I'm fine.'

_'Oh God, I have to get out of here!' _she thought. _'Maybe I could just wait until nopony's looking and then slip out the - '_

'All right, everypony!' cheered Pinkie Pie from the snack table as she was holding a microphone. 'We're gonna do _karaoke!'_

'Dammit to Tartarus!' muttered Crystal to herself.

'Now, who's gonna sing first?' said Pinkie. 'Who would like to volunteer to stand up in front of the _entire town _of Ponyville and _sing?! _Well, I think I know somepony who would love to - the guest of honor and my very good friend, Crystal Shard!'

'What?! But - ' said Crystal as she was shoved onto the table and Pinkie handed her the microphone.

'Oh, no!' said Violet, who was busy being fawned over by Fluttershy. 'Crystal can't do that!'

'Why not?' Fluttershy asked. 'Crystal's got a lovely voice - I heard her singing when she first arrived here.'

'No!' said Violet. 'I mean she'll be too - '

'Come on, Crystal!' cheered Pinkie Pie to Crystal, who so far had done nothing but stand in place, petrified. 'You can do it!'

_'Come on, Crystal!' _Crystal thought to herself. _'Open your mouth and sing! You don't want to be humiliated in front of the entire town, do you? Sing. Sing! SING!'_

'SING!' yelled Bulk Biceps the pegasus from the audience.

_'OK, I can do this. I can. I will.'_

Taking a deep and shaky breath, she opened her mouth and began to sing "Goodbye Fillydelphia, hello Ponyville".

_'L-life h-here will b-b-be beautiful, I j-j-just know it w-w-ill!' _she sang shakily. _'L-l- I CAN'T DO IT!'_

She dropped the microphone and ran down from the table, through the crowd and out of the house.

'CRYSTAL!' Pinkie Pie called after her. 'You didn't even get any cake!'

'What just happened there?' Rarity asked. 'I haven't seen anypony panic that much since Fluttershy was revealed to be Big Mac's replacement in The Ponytones concert!'

'Come to think of it, I was noticing somethin' strange 'bout Crystal when she arrived,' said Applejack. 'She kept takin' big deep breaths and placin' her hoof over her heart. It was almost like she wanted to bolt since the momen' she arrived!'

'I think I can explain that,' said Violet. 'You see, when Crystal was born, she was diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder. She can't handle being around ponies as well as other ponies might, because she gets too nervous. That's why she's never made any real friends aside from me. She'd never be able to attend a big party like this.'

'Maybe we should go after her,' said Rainbow Dash worriedly. 'She seemed pretty upset; we should check if she's OK.'

'Rainbow's right,' said Fluttershy. 'After all Crystal's done for me, comforting her in her hour of need is the least I can do.'

'What do you mean, "All Crystal's done for you"?' Twilight asked, before Spike burped up a scroll.

'A letter from the Princess?' she said, unwinding the scroll and reading from it. As she did, her expression became serious.

'What is it, Twilight?' asked Fluttershy.

'Princess Celestia wants to see us immediately,' said Twilight. 'She said ... there's something wrong with the Tree of Harmony.'

_**End of Part 1.**_


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